Mix Tape

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NOV. 7, 2011

My choices have been a little more relaxed recently. I guess as the holidays approach, I like more acoustic or pop-type music. So, here are my top 5 choices of the CDs I have been listening to.

1. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin- Let It Sway

This is an album that is just full of poppy goodness. I recently got back into listening to some of the good old Polyvinyl Records bands that I used to love. You can’t help but feel happy when you throw this album on. The production quality of this album is much better than their previous efforts, thanks in part to producer Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie. Now, this is not to say I still don’t love their first album, Broom, but I am really digging this new one.

 

2. Tom Waits- Bad As Me

If you don’t have this album yet, buy it. If you have kind of been on the fence about Tom Waits, which is just a crazy thing to say, buy this album! His voice, somehow, sounds even scratchier on this album…. and it’s beautiful. Keith Richards makes a guest appearance on the album and as you would think, he just fits into the Tom Wait’s world perfectly! One of the big surprise songs for me on the album was “Talking At The Same Time”. Waits sings in falsetto for this song and it is just hauntingly beautiful. And along those same lines is the track “Kiss Me”, which is extremely reminiscent of the good old Julie London hit “Cry Me a River”. Yeah, I’m sappy…. which is probably why I love this song as much as I do. Oh and interesting side note…. the record pops on “Kiss Me” is actually a recording of Waits cooking chicken on his grill during the summer

 

 

3. The Dodos- No Color

I have been a HUGE fan of this duo for years. No crazy, distorted rock guitars here or kickin’ bass lines….. this is best described as aggressive folk music… and after one listen, you will know what I mean. Standard tuning on the acoustic is a rarity here, as is a full drum kit. The Dodos have such a unique sound because of singer/guitarist Meric Long’s insanely erratic style of playing and haunting vocal melodies mixed with percussionist Logan Kroeber’s unorthodox use of rythms and extremely odd time signatures. The Dodos will frequently completely change signatures during songs…. and the boys definitely do love to write in 3/3 . I was a little late finally picking this album up because I lost a little bit of

interest when they moved a bit away from their older style of production. However, this album starts to move back to those good old times and I just absolutely love it. This album adds a third member to the band, playing vibes and percussion and the boys bring in Neko Case for some back up vocals. If you enjoy this album, then you really need to listen to their first two albums, Beware of the Maniacs and, of course, Visiter.

 

 

 

4. Born Ruffians- Red, Yellow & Blue

Another album that just makes me happy I may get crucified for this…. but, I do indeed listen to a little band by the name of Vampire Weekend. If you enjoy the poppy African inspired, reggaeish new wave of Vampire Weekend, then you may enjoy the Born Ruffians as well. On this album, the band sticks mostly to indie rock basics on their debut album, delivering lots of strummy guitars and yelped call-and-response vocals that can trace their roots back to the Pixies and Modest Mouse . Songs like “Barnacle Goose,” “Kurt Vonnegut” and “I Need a Life” are very quintessentially “indie” that at times. “Hummingbird” and “Badonkadonkey” are so hyperactive, they practically bounce out of speakers. Best of all is “Foxes Mate for Life,” which fakes out listeners with winsome acoustic guitars and pixilated keyboards before jumping into more of the band’s irrepressible rock. Play this if you want to smile….. and maybe dance in your living room

 

5. Deer Tick- Divine Providence

You may have seen them play on Letterman a few weeks ago. These guys just

rock!  Nice and gritty…. they definitely give a nod to the CBGB era of punk with some alt country type rock thrown in. Weird, right? Deer Tick owes more than a little debt to The Replacements, but the writing here is so good and the performances so commanding that the band’s roots just don’t matter. A cover of former Replacements leader Paul Westerberg’s “Mr. Cigarette” rounds out the collection and neatly pays homage. But it’s the pure rock ‘n’ roll bluster of “Funny Word,” “Something to Brag About,” and “The Bump” that evoke the explosive bar-band-with-no-boundaries spirit that was Westerberg’s bread and butter. “Main Street” was the tune played on Letterman and will mostly likely be the one that makes people fans of Deer Tick. And I should also note, if you find yourself digging this album, you owe it to yourself to check out the album “War Elephant”, which is arguably their best work

 

 

SEPT. 6, 2011

 

So, I figured I would put in a little place where I can share with you what I am currently listening to…. welcome to FBG’s mixtape I’ll update this every few weeks with my top 5 (sometimes maybe more)… and please feel free to comment below with some of your music suggestions, I am always looking for new things to listen to.

1. The Stone Foxes- So, my first suggestion here is a cover of Muddy Waters’ “I’m A King Bee” by a band called The Stone Foxes. It appears that they have only released the song as a single and it does not appear on any of their albums. It’s kind of like Black Keys/White Stripes covering the Muddy Waters classic. I love it, however, I am not completely over the moon for their latest album as a whole.

They do have another single out that is called “Psycho b/w Serious People” which I think is definitely worth the listen. They have a cool kind of Black Keys type sound…. just not as fuzzy sounding.

 

2. Radio Moscow- Some of you may already be listening to these guys, I only recently got into them, but I am loving it. Lots of fuzz here, some bluesy acoustic, a nice old school kind of blues vibe to their songs, he sings kind of like Jon Spencer and, oh yeah,  a lot of wah! It’s a very good album to put on while you’re in the car sitting in traffic. If you’re a fan of Hendrix or Cream with a modern twist on it, you will love this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They have two albums available…. the first is self titled from 2008 and the second album is called “Brain Cycles” released in 2009. Above, I have included links to a favorite track of mine from each album.

 

3. Aloha- “Some Echoes”

This is an older band that I really really like. I’ve seen them play live a few times and they were amazing. I don’t believe they are together anymore, but there are several albums available from them. There is just something about them… to me, it always sounded kind of like a bunch of gents that were in the high school jazz or marching band got together. A lot of their songs have some very odd yet great percussion and the guitar isn’t really in your face, but rather really mixes in well with the music. The album Some Echoes was one of my more favorite from them, but I enjoy their whole catalogue…. click the link below hear a song sample…. but don’t let that make up your mind as to whether or not you enjoy them…. they have a WIDE range of sounds

Weekend by Aloha

 

4. Golden- “Summer” or “Apollo Stars”

I believe that Golden only had a total of three albums and you will be lucky to find even two. The first album was an instrumental album…. then came the album Summer which really just blew me away… I absolutely loved it! I mean, it’s the drummer from Mars Volta and the bassist from Trans Am…. you can’t go wrong! I saw them play in Philly once and the drummer, Jon Theodore, completely split his crash in two! Best thing I had ever seen Be warned…. these guys love to just kind of jam in places… but it’s some pretty sweet guitar work…

They have a very old school 70′s rock component to their music with a little twang of blues here and there…. and the recording of the album just makes it sound like some good old lo-fi rock. Summer may be difficult to find and I don’t think it is available on Itunes. However, their next album, Apollo Stars, is and that is worth a listen as well. That one is somewhat of a concept album because the lyrics are frequently revolving around the Apollo theater… but the songs rock and I would have to say, this album is probably more cohesive than Summer was. Apollo has a little more of a funk rock feel to the songs and the focus seems to be more on a tight groove. Below is one of my favorite tracks off of Apollo Stars called “Feel This Flow”. Click to listen….

Feel This Flow by Golden

 

5. Fight Like Apes- “Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion”

I love this band! It’s nothing new, but it may be new for some of you And no, it is not because I’m a chick and I like bands with female singers This Irish group just rocks your face off… seriously. No guitar…. just a drummer, bassist (with a soft spot for fuzz on the bass), a guy on a moog and a chick singing and sometimes playing another moog.

Interesting note, May Kay, the singer, was a classically trained opera singer…. if you can find opera in here somewhere, let me know. She is just a balls to the wall chick and I hope some of you guys enjoy her as much as I do I guess you can describe them as a synthy punk band….

Oh and they do a cover of McKluskey’s “Light Saber Cocksucking Blues” that just kills it… I heart them

** WARNING **

DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS TRACK AT WORK